Under-garment



-(No Model.)

. o. A.v BROWN. UNDER GARMENT.

No. 465,453. Patented Dec. 22, 1891.

i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

n. CHARLES A. BROWN, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

UNDER-GARIVIENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,453, dated December22, 1891.

Appnmion ned May 23,1891. sel-arno. sessel. 4or@ man To all whom t mayconcern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Troy, county of Rensselaer, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Under-Garments, of whichthe following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to such improvements; and it consists of the novelconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter described andsubsequently claimed.

Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings and the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this'speci fcation.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

The special objects of my invention are to reduce the shrinkage ofinter-air-space undergarments having inner and outer wool surfaces toincrease their durability and cheapen their construction.

My invention consists of an under-garment composed throughout of twoplies of twothread fabric superimposed one upon the other, each plyhaving a smooth wool surface on one side, formed by one of the threadsand approximately free from knots, burrs, and other extraneous matter,and a cotton surface on the other side, formed by the other threadcomposed of cotton or other substance, Which can be laundered withoutmaterial shrinkage, the cotton surfaces being concealed between suchsuperimposed plis.

It is well known that an all-wool garment is subject to considerableshrinkage each time it is laundered unless more than ordinary care isbestowed upon the operation.

After an extended experience in the manufacture of inter-air-spaceunder-garments composed throughout of two plies I have ascertained thatthe fineness of the thread required to produce a fabric sufficientlylight to be doubled throughoutthe garment requires the best material andmost skilled treatment to provide woolen thread sufficiently strong tobe knitted or woven without breaking at frequent intervals. With th'ebest material obtainable breakage causes a large loss of stock and time,and the necessary tension upon the thread weakens the fabric at pointswhere the thread does not actually break. B y introducing a fineclosely-spun cotton thread .alongenable the cotton thread to carry italong into the fabric without a break or material injury, whereby finerand more loosely-spun,`

Woolen thread can be employed and without waste or loss of time.

It is wellknown to those skilled in the man ufacture of fabrics that amixture of cotton with Woolen fibers will reduce the shrinkage of thelatter.

By feeding the cotton thread to the needles of a knitting-machine aboveor inside of the woolen thread the woolen thread is made to appear uponone side of the fabric and the cotton upon the other side, 0r any knownmethod of knitting or weavingV may be employed t-o cause the Woolen toappear upon one side and the cotton on the other side of the fabric.Approximately all of the knots and other extraneous matter can be forcedto one side of the fabric, as explained in said Patent No. 429,310. Iforce them tothe cot- -ton side, leaving the woolen side smooth andapproximately free l from such extraneous matter. fabric upon another,so that the cotton and rough side of each is concealed between theplies, and make in any known manner undergarments of the desiredpattern,which are composed throughout of such superimposed plies offabric.

I have shown a preferred manner of' making one of my improvedunder-garments in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is aplan view of a flattened tubular web of fabric having an interior woolsurface and an exterior cotton surface, a portion ofthe web being brokenaway to show the Wool surface. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tubular webfolded by drawing one end overk the other, so as to superimpose one plyupon another and inclose and conceal the cotton surfaces between thesuperimposed plies, a portion of one of the outersuperimposed pliesbeing broken away to show the inner cotton surface of the other ply.Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of such superimposed I thensuperimpose one ply of such f ICO plies, taken on the broken line 3 3 inFig. 2. Fig. 4 isa view in elevation of a finished shirt.

The drawings represent an undershirt made from knitted fabric. Theflattened tube A is knitted from two threads, one cotton and the otherwoolen, with the cotton thread forced to the outer side of the tube toform the cotton surface A and the wool thread forced to I the inner sideto form the Wool surface A2. One half of the tube is drawn over theother half, so as t0 practically form a tube composed throughout of twoplies or thicknesses of fabric superimposed one upon another, as shownin Figs. 2 and 3, the cotton surfaces being concealed between the plies,the smooth wool surface being exposed both interiorly and lexteriorly ofthe tube. In Fig. 2 a portion of the outer ply is broken away to showthe cotton surface of the inner ply. The tube can then be made into anunder-garment in any known manner. 'By closing one end of the attenedtube with a line of stitching B, cutting out a neck-opening (indicatedby dotted lines B in Fig. 3) and sleeve-openings along dotted lines B2and securing sleeves B3 in such openings I am able to make an undershirtof a cotton-and-Wool-thread fabric having a smooth wool surface bothinteriorly and exteriorly, with the cotton-surfaces concealed betweenthe superimposed plies.

I do not wishto be limited to exactly two threads, as other threads maybe added when desired.

By the term cotton I include any vegetable fiber adapted to be spun intothread or yarn. 1

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As an improved article of manufacture, an under-garment composedthroughout of two plies of two-thread fabric superimposed one upon theother, each ply having a smooth wool surface on one side formed by oneof the threads and a cotton surface on the other side formed by theother thread, the cotton `surfaces being concealed between suchsuperimposed plies, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of May,1891.

CHAS. A. BROWN.

